I wrote - Asmaa Al-Hamad:
At a distance of about three hundred and thirty kilometers from the city of Jeddah, towards the southeast of Madinah, and through a road bordered by steppes and mountains of medium height on both sides, the Jabal Sayid mine appears, the joint venture between the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Maaden) and the Canadian Barrick Gold Company (Barrick) with a percentage of 50 percent each.
The place around the mine radiates the scent of the past, as does the mining industry. In our quest to awaken the memory of this place, and to return its past to the present, we spoke to the historian Mansour bin Marawi, one of the people of the (Al-Amq) area in the Al-Mahd Governorate in Madinah, who assured us that the name of Jabal Sayid is old, and it consists of several nearby mountains called Sayid. Red and brown hunter.
Bin Maroui recalls the mistake that the exploration companies made in the past; Those companies that lost their way to reach this mountain, because they relied on the foreign name for the mountain. He says in this regard: "The name of Jabal Sayid reminds us of situations with companies that used to come to search and excavate the site. They ask their experts, in their own accent, about Jabal Said, and they receive nothing but the astonishment of the people of the place to answer their questions; The fact that what they know is Saed mountain and not Said, so these experts leave and confusion possesses them and us, until this confusion subsided after discovering that writing the name of the mountain, in ancient American records, was a mistake from (Said) to (Said).
mountain of minerals
Under the supervision of the General Directorate of Mineral Resources, the mountain and its surrounding areas have historically witnessed the advent of foreign geological expeditions that carried out research, exploration and discovery, which made this area a special interest. The region was also classified as one of the most important regions of the Kingdom with an abundance of chalcopyrite, which encouraged companies such as the American company (USA) and the French (Syrim) to request a work permit issued, at the time, by the General Corporation for Petroleum and Minerals (Petromin).
On the other hand, the region witnessed, in some years, a halt in research work as a result of the decline in copper prices, but its return to the rise made it again under the eyes of companies specialized in this field to this day. It is important to note here that the copper content in this area represents a concentration of 2.5 percent, with the presence of some other minerals with varying concentrations such as gold, silver and zinc. These minerals take the form of veins extending into the ground.
Starting commercial operation of the mine
In July 2016, Maaden announced the start of commercial operation of the mine. The company stated at the time that the average annual production capacity of the mine was estimated at more than 300,000 tons of copper metal, while the life span of the mine was estimated at 16 years. As for the mine's reserves, it was estimated at 2.598 million tons of copper metal. The Jabal Sayid mine project, of course, allows for the transfer of knowledge and technology specialized in copper mining to the Kingdom. In 2017, the project succeeded in increasing the percentage of crude production from the approved target by 22 percent, to reach 1,632,958 metric tons. Ma’aden’s share of copper concentrate revenues for the whole first year amounted to 868 million riyals, as Ma’aden Barrick’s sales amounted to 35,530 metric tons of copper metal at an average price of $6.517 thousand per ton. This increase in production helped improve copper prices and Maaden’s financial performance.
The copper concentrate production plant on the project was able to complete its first full year of commercial operations in 2017.
Infrastructure of the area
With the growth of excavations in this mountain and its surroundings, the surrounding area gained an infrastructure and services, preceded by the arrival of electric current, and then the rest of the services that benefited the people of the area near the project. For example, Deputy Director-General Obaidullah Al-Harbi says in this regard: “The mine contributed to the delivery of internet and communication services, and this service became widespread in the area surrounding the project, in addition to a remarkable development in various fields that affected the areas and markets close to it. The region today is actually different from the past due to the capabilities this vital project has added to it in terms of commercial and social movement that has affected and continues to affect the lives of its residents.”
Al-Harbi added: “We expect, God willing, more growth in the region, especially as the mining sector pays great attention to economic and social development in the areas of mining projects. Considering that this is the main objective of his strategy and various initiatives.”
The project is a destination for employment
Since the Jabal Sayid mine project opened its doors for employment, it has attracted a high percentage of citizens from different regions, where the percentage of Saudi workers in this project has so far reached 76 percent. The director of human resources in the project, Mr. Muhammad Halabi, explains that the project is attracting students of mining engineering, and graduates of the Department of Geology, and we are now seeking to introduce a new system for filtering unit operations, and young Saudis are currently being trained to work on this system. The project, on the other hand, has a plan to employ university degree holders with engineering majors, such as a mechanical/rocks engineer, a mining engineer, a facility planning and maintenance administrator, and a high pressure electrical engineer. A number of the governorate’s residents were also selected to study at the Saudi Mining Technical Institute.
Positive impact...scientific and professional
Historically, the people of al-Amaq and the villages near the Jabal Sayed mine practiced grazing, agriculture and trade. With the growth of work in the mine, some patterns of work changed in this area, especially after a number of its sons joined the project. During our visit to the mine site, a number of young professionals spoke to us about the positive impact that the mine had on their scientific and professional career. Among them is the young man Nashmi bin Saleh Al-Abdali, who is from the Al-Amaq area and joined the mine in 2012. After obtaining a university degree specializing in English from Taibah University, he knew that the project was concerned with a field he had long read and heard about, which is mining. Nashmi says: “The high rates of employment were outside the region and far from our families, but the presence of the mine project contributed to dispelling this concern, as the workplace from which you earn your livelihood has become near the place of your birth and growth, and this is a great blessing, we thank God for it and we thank our wise leadership for provide it.”
Nashmi describes the eight years during which he worked as a safety officer in the Jabal Sayid project as excellent, which gave him culture and experience in the field of safety, fire protection and risk management in the mine, which, he says, were rooted in his culture and practices, and thus reflected on his daily and family life, especially since He is the supervisor of following the prevention and safety procedures and everything related to dealing with emergency cases, such as rescue, ambulance, immediate response to the event, and the preparation and monitoring of safety requirements approved by the concerned authorities.
Balancing work and social obligations
The community surrounding the mine is a society rich with its customs and traditions, and among these customs are social obligations. In this regard, the young mechanical engineer Turki Al-Shatry, a graduate of Hail University, who works on repairing and maintaining equipment in the project of all kinds, says: “We were facing several embarrassments due to the nature of the times. The work is divided into two types - and the employee has the freedom to choose one of them - either he works six hours for six consecutive days and enjoys the weekend, or that she works twelve hours for two consecutive weeks followed by a vacation for a whole week. It requires discipline that develops within you little by little, and with time things have become flexible and society has come to appreciate our working conditions and excuse us.”
Increase business
The Jabal Sayid project extends over an area of sixteen thousand square kilometers, and is surrounded from near and far by several villages and deserts, including: “Al-Amq” with a distance of 10 km to the north, “Mahd Al-Zahab” with a distance of 45 km to the south, and Al-Hanakia, which is located on the Distance 110 km. There are, too, other areas to the south of the project, such as Al-Suwayrqiah, Al-Saabih, and Al-Dumeiriya. The convergence and multiplicity of these areas and villages, with the presence of the Jabal Sayid mine project and other mines, has led to the revitalization of trade exchange and the movement of buying and selling, and an increase in the movement of work, as well as the return of some people to the area to work in the jobs available in the project.
For his part, a seventy-year-old man from Al-Amq area, Sheikh Saleh bin Asiker Al-Shatri, says: “The people of the areas surrounding the Jabal Sayid mine also deal with Souk al-Mahd. The presence of the mine has contributed to achieving another benefit to the market, which has been crystallized in increasing the movement of commercial activity in it.”
Al-Shatri points out that Al-Mahd Market has been known for its activity since the era of King Abdulaziz, may his soul rest in peace, and this activity has gradually increased to the current stage, which is witnessing in general a qualitative change in the commercial movement there.
Mine Project Social Responsibility
The Said mine project pays great attention to the social responsibility programs it implements in the region. To talk about the mine project, we met the Director of Public Relations; Sakhr bin Munawwar Al-Suhaimi, who gained experience in this field while working on the mine project since 2012. He emphasized that mining projects are closely linked to social responsibility and the implementation of its programs in every place where these projects are located. He pointed out that the concern for social responsibility, and the preservation of the environment, is present in every inch of the region, within the boundaries of the project and outside its scope in places close to it. He said that one of the social responsibility programs implemented by the project is to encourage, prepare and organize everything that benefits the people of the near and far regions. This includes economic and commercial aspects, such as defining a list of services and goods available in the markets of Al-Mahd Governorate and purchasing them from these markets, and contracting, for the needs of the project, with local contractors in various works, whenever possible. In the educational field, in cooperation with the secondary industrial institute in the governorate, the students of the institute are trained in their field of specialization in the project. There is also financial support for the events organized in the region, as well as the preparation of classes for boys and girls in some of its schools.
Great concern for the environment
The mine pays great attention to the environment inside and outside its scope. About this aspect, the Director of the Environment Department, Eng. Ahmed Ramadan, spoke to us at the outset about the department’s efforts in terms of supervision, follow-up and monitoring of the environmental impacts on the site; Through an integrated system concerned with air quality, surface water and soil quality characteristics. Ramadan adds, in this publication, saying: “We have established twenty-four wells to monitor and periodically monitor the quality of its groundwater and measure the extent to which it is affected by operating operations, in addition to measuring air quality and the amount of suspended gas and dust emissions, while following up on the characteristics of water quality physically and chemically, in addition to following up on the quality of water. The water wells outside the boundaries of the mine and the extent of its impact on it, and taking the necessary measures and precautions in this regard.”
The tasks of the Environment Department do not depend on the foregoing, but rather go beyond it to develop an environmental monitoring and inspection plan, on a regular basis, within the internal scope of the mine that changes according to the importance of the region and to measure the extent to which the internal and operational authorities and contractors comply with environmental regulations and legislation, with submitting a quarterly report to the environmental authorities that include Assessment of the environmental condition and its quality, and the extent of the mine's compliance with environmental standards.
While touring the mine, we saw transport trucks loaded with piles that resemble dust and stones after extracting copper from them. They are waste, says Engineer Ahmed Ramadan, who explained that there is a program approved by the senior management of the mine to deal with waste according to its type and characteristics. As for recyclable waste, the place where it is collected and transported through engineering landfills has been determined to a pre-determined designated area distributed according to the type of waste materials, provided that the period of collection and disposal of these wastes does not exceed ninety days, taking into account the development of steps aimed at promoting the concept of Sustainable environment through the recycling and re-exploitation of some mining waste. For example, in 2016, a technique was invented to reinforce the mine interior by reusing the mining waste by adding cement and some chemicals and pumping it back into the mine tunnels with the aim of filling the gaps after mining the ore from them.
Regarding the periodic review of the rehabilitation of the project area, Ramadan said that there is a plan that is updated annually related to the removal of all facilities and operational facilities in case of closure, whether at the end of the life span of the mine or the sudden closure. This plan relies on rehabilitating the area on which the facility is built and returning it to its former state.
Mine treated water
The Jabal Sayid mine brings the water it needs for production from the Madinah Wastewater Treatment Plant via dedicated tankers belonging to a local contractor. Research is currently underway to benefit from treated water in the sewage treatment plant in Al-Mahd City. The project, represented by the Department of Environment, had previously concluded an agreement with King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah in 2015 to conduct a specialized study concerned with surface water, valley streams and bottoms, and forecasts of precipitation over the next 100 years.
In 2019, a specialized study was carried out to know the reservoirs and characteristics of groundwater and their impact on the operations and production processes, and to know the properties of the soil and their impact on the quality of groundwater, its solubility in water, and the change in its chemical and physical properties. In November of 2020, the Environment Department was awarded the ISO 14001 certificate for environmental management.
On the other hand, the care and preservation of the environment encouraged the residents of the areas near the project to take walks in a clean and suitable environment, while observing the prevention of hunting in all areas of the project and outside it, which contributed to the existence of a rich and beautiful wildlife.
Safety and security first
Safety procedures in the Jabal Sayid mine project start from the residence, where residents must adopt the unified and approved parking position for the company’s light vehicles, and never allow other parking positions that could cause accidents or impede movement, evacuation and emergency plans.
The Supervisor of Rescue and Firefighting, Ahmed Al-Suhaimi, explains this method, as a method of standing ready to go without hindrance in an emergency, God forbid. In the event of an emergency, there are also fixed gathering areas within the residence, the factory and near the mine. Mine safety measures include long-sleeved clothing with a reflective jacket, and helmets with safety shoes designated for the nature of work in the mine. It is also not allowed to forget or forget to wear safety glasses.
As for the visitors of the project, the visitor is given a card that precedes the time of his arrival at the mine headquarters by an appropriate period. This card includes a pledge to follow and fully comply with security and safety procedures. It also includes comprehensive instructions for pre- and post-hazard security and safety procedures, and this card also explains how to implement each procedure by miners or visitors. It is worth noting that the Safety Department has obtained the ISO 45001:2018 . certification
Finally...
The Jabal Sayid mine is a place radiant with hope and full of wonder. That astonishment that generates questions and answers that are present in this ambitious industrial and mining place, which opens broad prospects for economic and social development in the region; As is the case with the rest of the mining projects in other regions of the Kingdom. It is a project within a package of major mining projects that achieve the Kingdom's Vision 2030, from which the comprehensive strategy for mining and mining industries emerged. That strategy, which implemented many of its initiatives in a short period of time not exceeding three years. With the launch of many initiatives of this strategy, the mining projects, which affect the economic and social action, are coming to contribute to the development of the areas in which these projects will be located and the development of the lives of their residents.